Snare drum



y 1939- H. H. SLINGERLAND 2,166,733

SNARE DRUM Filed May 22, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 12 H IN III IILII Al L45 v.1, java/2W:

July 18, 1939. H. H. SLINGERLAND SNARE DRUM Filed May 22, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 18, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to a snare drum, and more particularly to improved means for supporting the snare.

One feature of this invention is that it provides supports for said snare enabling an active portion substantially the full width of said head; another feature of this invention is that it enables vertical adjustment of the snare to vary the pressure thereof against the head, and thus the quality of the note produced by the drum; yet a further feature of this invention is that improved throw-off or muflling means for the snare is provided; other features and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following specification and the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a drum embodying this invention; Figure 1 is a detailed view, partly in section, of one of the snare-supporting brackets; Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of said drum; Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view along the line 3 of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a detailed sectional view along the line 4 of Figure 1; Figure 5 is a detailed side elevation of the tensioning means; and Figure 6 is a view of one of the plates in said means.

It is desirable to have substantially the entire diameter of one head of the drum available for contact with the active portion of a snare, and to be able to adjust the length of contact of the snare and its pressure against the head to enable the quality of note produced by the drum to be altered as desired. An orchestra with a strong preponderance of brass instruments, for example, requires a heavy snare for best effect; that is, the snare should be quite tight against the drum head and contact practically the entire width. On the other hand, other orchestra arrangements require a feather-touch snare for best effect, and this may be achieved only when the snare is in light contact with the head, preferably throughout less than the full diameter.

The present invention achieves these desired results by providing a snare with an active portion the full width of the drum head, and by so supporting the snare that its relation to the head may be readily varied to provide the different snare eiiects desired. In addition, improved throw-ofl means are provided to insure the snare being completely separated from the head beyond any possibility of contact therewith when it is desired that the drum be mufiled.

In the particular embodiment of the invention disclosed herewith an orchestra model snare drum is shown as comprising a shell 10, batter and snare counterhoops II and I2, and heads [3 and 14 held on said shell by said hoops, hoopholding members l5 being provided for this pur pose.

The snare counterhoop I2 is provided with gates l6 and I! through which a snare I8 is adapted to pass. The snare has an active portion comprising strands of any kind, here shown as spring wire coils I9 carried by strainer plates 20 and 2|. Strainer means is provided connected to these plates to enable variation of the tension in the active portion of the snare, these means being here shown as cords 23 and 24 of gut or the like. It will be noted that the bed for the snare head is cut into the shell somewhat near the gates 50 that, as may be particularly seen from reference to Figure 3, this head is given an arcuate surface along the line of contact with the snare 18. That is, the annular hoop forming the bed is out down below the plane of the remainder thereof near the gates. The membrane of the head is thus at a lower point near the gates than near the center of the drum, the tension causing a substantially arcuate surface in a section through the gates.

The supporting means for the snare comprises a pair of brackets mounted on the shell I0, these being the butt bracket 25 and strainer bracket 26. Each of these brackets is provided with a portion or member adapted to carry the snare and to be substantially flush with but spaced from the snare head, these members being referred to respectively as 21 and 28. These members are vertically adjustable (vertically here being used with reference to the particular placement of the drum shown) to enable variation in the heighth or placement of the strainer plates 20 and 21 with respect to the snare head l4. These adjustable members comprise U-shaped portions providing a smooth upper surface, over which the cords 23 and 24 may be drawn, the

members being carried on the brackets and adjustable with respect therto by means of threaded studs. Referring more particularly to the strainer bracket 26, it will be seen that the adjustable member 28 is carried by two studs 29 and 30, each having a knurled head portion projecting slightly out beyond said adjustable member 28 to enable ready manual manipulation.

While one end of the snare is fixedly attached to the butt bracket 25, the other end passes over the member 28 carried by the strainer bracket 26 and is fastened to tensioning means of known form. Referring more particularly to Figures 4, 5 and 6, this tensioning means is here shown as comprising a plate or member 3| carried by the bracket 32 and adjustable with respect thereto by the threaded member 33. The bracket is in turn carried by mounting means 34 attached to the shell, and a manually operable lever 35 serves, through interaction of a stud 36 carried thereby with a slot 31 in the plate 38, to vary at will the vertical position of the member 3|, and thus the tension in the snare l8. The lever and slot are so arranged that a toggle action results, the lever remaining at either taut position or position of lessened tension, as desired. Intermediate adjustments are made by means of the rotatable threaded member 33.

Vertical adjustment of the members 21 and 28 on the brackets permits the effective supporting plane for the snare to be varied, and since the drum head along this line is slightly arcuate, var

iation may be had in the length of snare in con-'- tact with the drum head and the amount of pressure exerted thereagainst. It will be readily apparent that if the adjustable members are moved to a plane practically flush with the center of the snare head, only a relatively small portion of the snare will be in contact therewith and the pressure thereagainstr will be relatively light, even though the actual tension in the snare strands I9 may be varied by the threaded member 33. On the other hand, if the adjustable members 2! and 28 are moved upwardly (again with reference to the position of the drumas shown in the drawings) until they lie flush with or above the edges of the head, practically the entire width of the head will be in contact with an active portion of the snare, and a much heavier snare will be achieved with different drum quality. The provision of adjustable means at each of the ends of these members permits the plate to be changed somewhat with respect to the plane of the drum head to compensate for any tendency of one side of the snare to draw into tighter engagement with the head than the other side.

The strainer plates 20 and 2| are here shown as carrying flat spring strips of resilient metal 40 and 4|. These springs are in contact with the head and so arranged as to bias the strainer plates, and thus the snare, away from the head when the tension in the snare is lessened by manipulation of the handle 35. The tension of said springs is, of course, light enough to permit the snare to be readily drawn into contact with the head by the tensioningmeans, yet is of sufficient strength to maintain the snare fully removed from the head when the tension is lessened to insure complete muflling of the snare action. The

fact that there is considerable resilience in the snare strands l9, here shown as of spring coil wire construction, necessitates the provision of some positive means for holding the strands out of contact with the head when it is desired to mufile the drum.

While I have shown and described certain embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that it is capable of many modifications. Changes, therefore, in theconstruction and arrangement may be made Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed in the appended claims, in which it is my intention to claim all novelty inherent in my invention as broadly as permissible, in view of the prior art,

I claim:

1. A drum of the character described, including: a shell; a head; a pair of brackets mounted on opposite sides of said head having adjustable portions substantially flush with but spaced from said head, said adjustable portions comprising members each supported by a pair of independent threaded studs mounted in said brackets, whereby the plane of the upper surface of said members as well as the vertical position thereof may bevaried with respect to saidhead; a snare carried by said adjustable portions, whereby the contact of said snare with said head may be varied; and means on said drum connected to said snare for releasing the tension in said snare.

2. A drum of the character described, including: a shell; a head; a snare adapted to contact said head; means on the drum connected to the snare for varying the tension in said snare; andspring means at each end of said snare under compression between the drum and the snare to urge the ends of said snare away from said head, whereby said snare moves away from said headas the tension is lessened. 3 3. A drum of the character described, including: a'shell; a head; a snareadapted to contact said head; means on the drum connected to the snare for varying the tension in said snare; and thrust springs comprising resilient metal strips mounted on said snare at each end thereof in contact with said head and positioned between said snare and said head to urge said snare away from said head, said springs being of such elasticity that said snare can be drawn into contact with said head by said tensioning means yet of sufficient strength to maintain said snare removedfrom said head when the tension is lessened.

HENRY H. SLINGERLAND. 

